Plans for "The Kindler Hotel" bring new class to Lincoln

By Taylor Barth&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Tue 9:51 PM, Jan 10, 2017&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Tue 10:41 PM, Jan 10, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The capital city is going "high class" with plans in place for a new hotel, unlike anything else in Lincoln. The developers say the "Kindler Hotel" will be comparable to a Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons Hotel. The project is planned for 11th and P Streets, which is near Embassy Suites and Misty's.

"The Kindler" will cater to a niche group of customers in Lincoln who want to enjoy a Nebraska feel with a touch of big city ritz.

"You have some good hotel product, you don't have any great hotel product," Nicolas Castaneda with Cas-Neb-Neda LLC, the developer of "The Kindler," said. "We want to bring that to you."

Nicolas and his wife, Brooke, plan to raise the bar when it comes to Lincoln's hotel scene.

"High thread count sheets, robes, slippers, those are some of the differences," Castaneda said.

It's a dream the couple has had for years, naming the hotel after Brooke's late father and Lincoln artist, Ken Kindler.

"He worked in copper and different types of industrial art, and so what we've done is we're going to incorporate his art work," Castaneda said.

The couple is also working with a Beverly Hills designer, who has the Ritz Carlton in Los Angeles on his resume.

The hotel will be seven stories with 38 rooms and an indoor-outdoor lounge and wine bar.

"It's nice to see new places around town, but I always feel like something is missing," Brooke Castaneda said. "So, I think we're trying to create that space for people who want to stop and have a glass of wine after dinner. I feel like that's kind of lacking here in Lincoln."

The $10 million project also includes the restoration of the Lincoln Commercial Club Building, which will be attached to the hotel. The building dates back to 1912.

"Our plans are to restore the ballroom and to add a billiards room, a spa on the fourth floor, a library and an office," Commercial Club Developer Dana Walsh said. "Just make it a very, very comfortable 'clubby' place."

It's a classy concept that will cost customers higher rates, but an experience the developers believe is unmatched.

"It'll be the main go-to wedding venue," Castaneda said. "We hope to make it the go-to hotel for local people to gather for wine at the bar in the lobby. Your friends and family come into town, we want to be the premier place."

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission and Lincoln City Council still need to sign off on the project. If approved, construction is expected to start in May. The target completion date is summer 2018.

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